– HAPPENSTANCE –
Chapter Eleven
I purchase an incredibly tacky, glitter-covered Santa ornament, then we head back out into the bright summer sun. There's a little less space between us as we walk now, with a little more conversation and small smiles shared back and forth. I didn't expect to feel comfortable with Edward this soon, or for him to appear to feel the same way toward me. Hanging out with him here just feels natural—a carefree, casual way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
After checking out a few more random shops, we stop for lunch at another little bistro-cafe at the far end of town. This one is quite a bit busier, with most of the tables occupied and a steady hum of chatter going on around us. I insist on paying this time since Edward covered breakfast, and he acquiesces without putting up a fuss, which is so refreshingly modern that I almost can't contain a dreamy sigh. He is nothing like I might have expected from the very little I saw of him at work, and the more time I spend with him, the more I'm finding myself truly enjoying his company.
We each request a soup and sandwich combo with a bottle of sparkling water at the counter, and then snag one of the few empty spots to sit near a window. Edward looks so much more at ease than he did this morning, leaned back in his chair with his forearms resting casually on the tabletop while we wait for our order number to be called. I smile at him and he smiles back, as though neither of us is sure where to begin our next conversation.
"So, how did you get into I.T.?" I finally ask to fill the silence, maybe a small part of me just wanting to hear his voice. He speaks low but clear and strong, a smooth, mid-range tone that wraps around my senses like a hug.
Edward glances down at his hands, his brow slightly furrowed in contemplation. "I always liked to tinker with stuff, I guess. Toys, clocks, electronics, that kind of thing. When I was a kid I used to take stuff apart to try to figure out how it worked; sometimes I could even put it back together again, too." He looks up at me with a smirk, and I get such a perfect image of him as a cheeky, curious child that I find myself smiling along with him.
"Sounds like it was meant to be," I say.
Edward's gaze holds mine as one side of his mouth curves even higher, the crooked grin I initially thought was shy suddenly appearing much more sly. "I think so, too."
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